do you log supplements?

niteowl24
niteowl24 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Are we supposed to log supplements or vitamins?

What supplements do you prefer or recommend?

Is there a brand that can be trusted to actually have the ingredients its supposed to have?

Replies

  • getup25
    getup25 Posts: 119 Member
    I log my vitamins. My calcium actually has 8 calories. I don't have a preference to any specific brand. I look at ones that are easy to swallow.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    What sort of supplements? Anything with calories is accounted for
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    YES. I just realized my fish oil capsules are 60 calories for 3. That’s half a pound a month I could be losing if I accounted for them.

    Aside from that, I don’t have much confidence that most supplements are actually absorbed that well. What are you looking for exactly?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    They have calories, so of course I log them
  • niteowl24
    niteowl24 Posts: 6 Member
    Emilia777 wrote: »
    YES. I just realized my fish oil capsules are 60 calories for 3. That’s half a pound a month I could be losing if I accounted for them.

    Aside from that, I don’t have much confidence that most supplements are actually absorbed that well. What are you looking for exactly?

    General thoughts or opinions mostly.

    Im supposed to take fish oil and calcium. Its ingrained at this point i take it with my daily medications and it really didnt occur to me to log tums.

    60 calories blows lol

    2 pieces of bacon is 70 calories (i dont eat bacon, but i watched my husband an entire pound of it this morning which is how i know the calories)
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    edited May 2015
    niteowl24 wrote: »
    Emilia777 wrote: »
    YES. I just realized my fish oil capsules are 60 calories for 3. That’s half a pound a month I could be losing if I accounted for them.

    Aside from that, I don’t have much confidence that most supplements are actually absorbed that well. What are you looking for exactly?

    General thoughts or opinions mostly.

    Im supposed to take fish oil and calcium. Its ingrained at this point i take it with my daily medications and it really didnt occur to me to log tums.

    60 calories blows lol

    2 pieces of bacon is 70 calories (i dont eat bacon, but i watched my husband an entire pound of it this morning which is how i know the calories)

    Haha I know right?! Mmm bacon (sorry, I’m a fan). Darn fish oil :smile: . But you know, now that I track it, I can still make stuff work within my goals, including having bacon. So it’s all good.

    Anyway, fish oil is a basic one that I think is worthwhile, and can’t go wrong with calcium. I try to take a multivitamin, but I’m not too sure it does anything. Aside from that, unless you have a doctor’s recommendation, I don’t think anything else is worth it personally. And I used to take a giant fistful of supplements. Now I just try to hit my macros (protein, fat, fibre) and hope that the micros (vitamins) add up :smile:
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    I log my multivitamin even though it doesn't show any caloric value. I do that mostly for completeness and because MFP does track the vitamin C & A content (I wish Vitamin D was included).

    I also drink a Biofeel a day (korean probiotic yogurt drink like Yakult), and I track that because it does have about 40 cals.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I log my Metamucil fiber (40 calories for 2 teaspoons), but that's it. I'm (nearly) always at least 100 calories under my daily allotment anyway.
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    I log my multivitamin and vitamin d in the morning with my coffee because seeing it there already reminds me to take it later with food when I glance at my diary. they don't have any calories supposedly. But whatever... It's just like a reminder for me.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    niteowl24 wrote: »
    Emilia777 wrote: »
    YES. I just realized my fish oil capsules are 60 calories for 3. That’s half a pound a month I could be losing if I accounted for them.

    Aside from that, I don’t have much confidence that most supplements are actually absorbed that well. What are you looking for exactly?

    General thoughts or opinions mostly.

    Im supposed to take fish oil and calcium. Its ingrained at this point i take it with my daily medications and it really didnt occur to me to log tums.

    60 calories blows lol

    2 pieces of bacon is 70 calories (i dont eat bacon, but i watched my husband an entire pound of it this morning which is how i know the calories)

    I've just started taking calcium tablets, which I log. Only so I can remember what I have and have not taken during the day.
    But when I was researching calcium/vitD supps it said NOT to take them with other vitamins, as the calcium pushes the other supplements out of your body and doesn't allow to uptake the nutrients from whatever other supps you're taking, Or something to that affect.....
    So now I make sure to take my calcium tablets 2 hours apart from anything else.

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I log mine but not because of the calories, I like to see my micronutrient numbers.
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    When I had my blood work done for vitamin levels, I found out that I was anemic, had very little vitamin D, & a b12 deficiency. So I take all of the above and a multi vitamin and vitamin C. I do log them, just to keep myself in check to remember.

    You cannot take calcium and iron together, which is why I take the vitamin C with the iron. The vitamin C increases the iron absorption. If you were to take the calcium and iron together the iron would bind to the calcium and it would not absorb properly. So you don't want to take them together.

    Also, if you take a multivitamin, you want to take it without the others. Your body can only absorb so much of certain vitamins, and if you take more than that at one time it will all be flushed out.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Cant be bothered. I do take mine as part of my pre gym routine so dont need to log as a reminder. Im no worried about the calories either as I have a bigger offset.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    When I had my blood work done for vitamin levels, I found out that I was anemic, had very little vitamin D, & a b12 deficiency. So I take all of the above and a multi vitamin and vitamin C. I do log them, just to keep myself in check to remember.

    You cannot take calcium and iron together, which is why I take the vitamin C with the iron. The vitamin C increases the iron absorption. If you were to take the calcium and iron together the iron would bind to the calcium and it would not absorb properly. So you don't want to take them together.

    Also, if you take a multivitamin, you want to take it without the others. Your body can only absorb so much of certain vitamins, and if you take more than that at one time it will all be flushed out.

    Oh bloody el, most confusing!!!

    I take

    fish oil
    Calcium
    Multi vitamin
    Magnesium
    grape seed extract
    VitC

    There's not enough hours in the day to take them all hours apart from each other..... ~sigh~

  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    I log mine but not because of the calories, I like to see my micronutrient numbers.

    this +1000

  • sweetteadrinker2
    sweetteadrinker2 Posts: 1,026 Member
    I do, when I take them. I use a gummy multi-vitamin so it has a fair few calories, and carbs. Worth it to not upset my tummy though.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    The only one I'm consistent with is vit d. Mostly because it's the liquid stuff and I just drop in under my tongue after toothbrushing. I should be taking B complex and iron, but am less consistent with that. Would like to take glucosamine and vit C more regularly too.

    I was good with all this until I started trying to follow directions around appropriately *timing* all these, eg after meals, some not together, etc. So I'd forget whether they were in my bag or on the counter etc.

    I'd love to get like a custom liquid made up, with what I want in the dose I want and just dropper it once in the am like I do with my vit d.

    Fish oil, yes, 40 cals.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    I wonder how bad it really is to just neck it all at the same time. Worse than not taking it at all?
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    The real issue is whether any of those supplements make any difference in the end in terms of health and lifespan.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    The real issue is whether any of those supplements make any difference in the end in terms of health and lifespan.

    Well yeah. There's reasonable evidence for some of it. I'm doing D (and should do iron) on docs order. C I'm doing for multiple reasons. Glucosamine is there just because I'm crossing my damned fingers
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    My grandma and mum both have osteoporosis. My mums doctor implored her to make sure us kids start taking calcium.
    The multi vitamin i take, just in case.
    My dentist put me onto grape seed extract.
    Fish oil and probiotics, I've read most everyone should take them.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    When I had my blood work done for vitamin levels, I found out that I was anemic, had very little vitamin D, & a b12 deficiency. So I take all of the above and a multi vitamin and vitamin C. I do log them, just to keep myself in check to remember.

    You cannot take calcium and iron together, which is why I take the vitamin C with the iron. The vitamin C increases the iron absorption. If you were to take the calcium and iron together the iron would bind to the calcium and it would not absorb properly. So you don't want to take them together.

    Also, if you take a multivitamin, you want to take it without the others. Your body can only absorb so much of certain vitamins, and if you take more than that at one time it will all be flushed out.

    Oh bloody el, most confusing!!!

    I take

    fish oil
    Calcium
    Multi vitamin
    Magnesium
    grape seed extract
    VitC

    There's not enough hours in the day to take them all hours apart from each other..... ~sigh~

    I compromise. I take most of my supplements and medications with breakfast because one med and the iron needs to be taken with food. I no longer eat yogurt or any other dairy (except my Tbl of half & half in my coffee) with breakfast because of the iron/calcium interaction.

    I do take the omeprazole (prescription prilosec) sometime later in the day because acid blockers also block the absorption of several nutrients and many medications so it is best to take it by itself.

    I take:
    Multi
    High potency iron (Dr. prescribed for chronic anemia)
    D3 (SAD)
    B12 (also for the anemia)
    water pill
    antidepressant
    omeprazole


  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    I log mine but not because of the calories, I like to see my micronutrient numbers.

    Do you have to have a premium membership to see micros and would this give you iron counts? I'm anemic, and would like to see this. I do take an iron supplement. That reminds me, time to get tested again.

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited May 2015
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    I log mine but not because of the calories, I like to see my micronutrient numbers.

    Do you have to have a premium membership to see micros and would this give you iron counts? I'm anemic, and would like to see this. I do take an iron supplement. That reminds me, time to get tested again.

    No. Go to "Reports" and choose whatever micronutrient you want to see. If you want to actually track iron in your diary, go toe "settings" --> "diary settings" --> "Nutrients tracked" and choose iron instead of something like the default sugar.

  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Only if they have calories. I don't track anything else.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    edited May 2015
    The real issue is whether any of those supplements make any difference in the end in terms of health and lifespan.

    Taking iron supplements for my anemia has made an incredible difference in my energy level and frequency of hair loss. Also, the two types of iron supplements the VA gave me did nothing for me and when I switched to a different form, I felt a difference and stopped "shedding" as much. I actually got written up at work due to making mistakes because my anemia was essentially untreated when I was taking the POS VA supplements. Until the lightbulb went off, I thought I was unable to focus because I just hated my job, lol. (I didn't hate it - I was just feeling like *kitten* from untreated anemia.)

    I'm taking Iron Bisglycinate now. I've taken maybe a half dozen different types and this one works the best - no constipation and taking one per day gives me low normal iron levels, which is good, considering how much my fibroids cause me to hemorrhage at that TOM. I've doubled my iron pill since the last test and am curious to see how that changed my levels.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    I log my calcium supplements because since I stopped drinking milk by the bucketful I want to make sure I'm getting enough calcium. :)
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